Specifications

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29) My doesn’t my Memorex TravelDrive show any files on it in Windows 2000 when the
write/protect switch is on? They show up in Windows XP.
The answers to the questions follow below. Click on the link to the Memorex Reference Guide to
Flash Cards and Drives to get more detailed information, including pictures and charts. If you have
a question not listed in our FAQs, E-mail the question to us; and we will add your question and the
answer to the most frequently asked questions.
1) Flash media are electronically programmable memory chips popularized as storage media
for digital cameras, camcorders, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, and MP3
players as well as many other devices. They are called “flash” because a sudden
“flash” of
voltage changes their data memory. See the Reference Guide section on EEPROM
memory chips.
2) There are seven different types: PC cards, Compact Flash, Smart Media, Secure Digital,
MultiMedia, Memory Stick, and xD digital cards. The
latter six are the most common.
3) The cards are not distinguished by good, better, best. The main difference is in the size
and weight of the card versus its capacity. Devices that need a lot of storage capacity,
such as high-resolution digital cameras, often use the Compact Flash because it is the
largest and can hold the most. Small, hand-held devices favor the smaller MultiMedia or
Secure Digital cards for reasons of size and weight.
4) Your digital device determines that. If your digital camera takes Compact Flash, that is the
one to get. If your camera takes Smart Media and your laptop takes Compact Flash, get a
combination reader for your desktop computer to transfer both types. There are universal
flash readers that will read and write to all seven of the most common types.
5) The
Compact Flash, despite its name, is the largest version that is capable of storing the
most data. It was called compact because it was so much smaller than PC cards when it
was introduced.
6) Compact Flash I is thinner than the Type II. The Type I is 3.3 mm thick and the Type II is
5.0 mm, similar to the thickness of the PC card types. Because Type II cards are thicker,
they can hold more data than Type I cards. Type I cards will fit into Type II slots, but not
the other way around because Type II cards are too thick for Type I slots.
7) Compact Flash cards are compatible with 3.3- or 5.0-volt devices. There is no need to
choose one suited by voltage.
8) As production costs for the larger capacity 64MB, 128MB, and 256MB have decreased and
prices have come down, costs for the lower capacity cards have remained the same. Since
the prices would end up being the same for a 32MB card as an 8MB card, manufacturers
have decided to concentrate on offering customers the better value. The same thing also
holds true for the other flash cards.
9) It is not corrupting files, but it may be doing something worse. If one of the small openings
in the CF card is even slightly closed by having a plastic edge folded over, the card not only
will not work, it may also bend the particular fragile pin in every camera or reader into the
card is inserted. Check the bottom of the faulty card to see if one of the squares is closed
in. It may be possible to reshape it properly, but bending the pins back is delicate business.
10) Smart Media are thinner flash cards than Compact Flash. They do not have a controller
built into them, so that reduces weight, thickness, and cost, although market prices have
fallen so quickly that price savings are hard to see.
11) Check to see what voltage Smart Media card the camera requires. It may be that you have
a 5.0-volt card that is designed not to fit into the slot for a 3.3-Volt Smart Media device. See
the Reference Guide for more details.
12) Smart Media cards do not have controllers in them, unlike other flash memory cards. The
controllers are in the devices that write to them or read from them. If your digital camera is
an early version whose controller is limited to capacities of 16MB, it will not recognize larger
capacity cards. Unless you can get a firmware upgrade from the camera manufacturer, the
larger cards will not work in your camera.